


Ask The Cards

by LaughterWrites



Category: Moominvalley (Cartoon 2019), Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson, 楽しいムーミン一家 | Moomin (Anime)
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Tarot, tarot reading
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-23
Updated: 2020-01-21
Packaged: 2020-03-06 00:05:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18839560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaughterWrites/pseuds/LaughterWrites
Summary: Snufkin does a tarot reading for Moomin, but may be projecting his own complicated feelings onto the cards.





	1. Past, Present, Future

**Author's Note:**

> I've only been studying tarot for about a year, I've only done little daily readings for myself, and I'm not a witch, so this is more based on what witches and tarot experts I know have told me about reading for other people.
> 
> Also! Snufkin? he got some raccoon hands

It's a rainy day in Moomin Valley. Sniff, Little My, and Snorkmaiden decided to spend the day with The Snork, working on his machine to detect Hattifatteners. Moomintroll (who would rather not get shocked again) and Snufkin (who is banned from Snork's projects involving Hattifatteners) are spending the day in Moomintroll's room. 

"Can we play War with your cards, Snufkin? Moomin asks from the floor, looking at his friend who's sitting on the windowsill, his tail swinging lazily. 

Snufkin passes his mouth organ between his hands. "My cards? I don't have any playing cards, Moomintroll, don't you have a deck?" 

Moomin shakes his head. "Only most of one. Snorkmaiden took the face cards to use as paper dolls. I mean your pretty cards, the painted ones, that you got somewhere in the south." 

"Oh, dove, I'm not sure... What if your Snorkmaiden takes them, too? I don't think my cards would be all to happy to be missing their Empress." 

Moomin grabs his tail, to stop it swinging back and forth at Snufkin's nickname for him. "She's not  _my_ Snorkmaiden. She isn't  _anyone's_ Snorkmaiden except her own, she told me so herself! And anyway Snufkin, she isn't here!" 

Snufkin nods and reaches over to put his mouth organ on Moomin's bedside table. He fishes through his pocket and pulls out a small box with a sliding lid, painted with leaves and flowers. "I don't think my cards would like very much to be used as playing cards, they aren't normal cards, you know" Snufkin says with a slight smile. 

Moomin's ears perk up. "Oh! Are they magic cards?" 

Snufkin shakes his head. " No, but also yes. They're divining cards. They're kind of like a mirror, but instead of showing how you look, they show your feelings and your magic." 

Moomin holds his tail sheepishly. "I don't really get it, Snufkin, I'm sorry." 

Snufkin hops off the windowsill and sits across from Moomin on the floor. "Here, I can do a simple reading for you, if you'd like." 

"Oh yes, Snufkin, I'd like that very much!" Moomin says with a wide grin. 

"Lets get started, then." Snufkin slides the lid off the box and pulls out a handkerchief, which he lays out on the floor between them. 

"My floor isn't dirty, you know." Moomin huffs, only slightly offended. "Mamma had me sweep just yesterday." 

"This isn't for dirt," Snufkin explains, "I just prefer to use the cards on this, I don't even use them on my own bedroll. Its something like a habit." He tips the box over onto the handkerchief, letting the cards fall out. He slides the lid back on and puts the box back in his pocket. He pushes the cards together into a deck, and holds it out to Moomin. "Here, shuffle them." 

Moomin shakes his head. "No, no, Snufkin, you know I can't shuffle. And you always do it so well, too!" 

"You have to shuffle, that way the cards know who they're mirroring. If I shuffle they'll get confused." 

Moomin takes the deck carefully, as though he's afraid they'll turn into a snake and bite him. He splits the deck into two stacks and holds one in each paw, like he's seen Snufkin do. He lines them up and tries to shuffle them together, but instead of falling into a neat stack, they pop out of his paws and land in two messy piles. Snufkin stifles a laugh with his hands. Moomin frowns at the cards and pushes them into a messy deck. 

"They're shuffled." Moomin announces, holding the deck back out to Snufkin. 

Snufkin looks at the cards and back at Moomin. "I've never done this for anyone else, I'm not completely sure what to do from here." 

Moomin looks down at the cards in his paws. "Well how do you do it for yourself?" 

Snufkin stands up and steps over the handkerchief, sitting next to Moomin. "I think it'll be easier if I'm here." he says, looking down at the kerchief so Moomin won't see how he's blushing. 

Moomin nods, shifting the cards into one paw so he can grab his swinging tail. "Y. yeah, of course. What happens next?" 

Snufkin points to the cards. "Lay out the top three cards facedown, next to one another." 

Moomin does as he says, and sets the rest of the cards to the side. 

"That card is the past." Snufkin says, pointing to the far left card, "And there's the present, and the future. Flip them over, starting with the past." 

The past is [The Moon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Moon_\(Tarot_card\)#/media/File:RWS_Tarot_18_Moon.jpg), followed by [The Knight of Wands in Reverse](https://teachmetarot.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/kwurx.jpg) in the present, and [Death](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_\(Tarot_card\)#/media/File:RWS_Tarot_13_Death.jpg) in the future. Moomin points to the Death card. "The future holds death? That's awful foreboding." 

"Don't worry, Dove, Death doesn't always mean someone dies. In fact, it looks to me like it might be positive in this case." 

"Really?" Moomin asks with a smile. "What does it mean?" 

Snufkin points at the Moon. "Let's start with the past. Do you see the moon? She's pretending to be the sun." 

Moomin nods, so Snufkin continues. "And the dog is pretending to be a wolf. In this set, the Moon means someone pretending to be something they're not."

"That reminds me of Sorry-oo! The dog I met last winter who wanted to be a wolf! That must be what this card symbolizes, since that was in the past." 

Snufkin's heart drops for a moment. "Maybe, it could also symbolize someone you're very close to, or even you." 

Moomin looks down at the cards. 'Well... well I'm not pretending.... I'm definitely not! Are you pretending, Snufkin?" 

Snufkin feels his face go hot. "No, of course I'm not pretending, what would I even be pretending about, my silly Moomin?"  _My silly Moomin._ The words almost catch in his throat. Of course he's pretending to be something he's not. He's pretending to be a good friend. Good friends don't have dreams about kissing their friends. They especially don't wake up and nearly cry because it was just a dream. They don't daydream about running their hands over their friend's soft fur, and stare in their friends eyes, imagining what it would be like to press soft kisses all over their face. Snufkin is pretending, but he hopes that maybe, just maybe, Moomin is pretending a little, too. "Maybe the card is talking about Sorry-oo then. let's move on to the present." 

"Its a knight! But he's upside down..." Moomin reaches to turn the card over. Before he gets to it, Snufkin grabs his paw. 

"Its okay, leave it, its supposed to be upside down." Snufkin explains, lowering Moomin's paw. 

"Ah, okay. I suppose it makes sense that the magic cards would go upside down on purpose." Moomin says, looking down at Snufkin"s hand which is now laying on top of his. neither of them move. 'So what does the knight mean?" 

Snufkin looks down at the card. "The Knight tends to symbolize a person, typically a man, and usually an adult, at that. Its someone who moves quickly. He's adventurous, but because its upside down, it means he's reckless and somewhat impulsive. Because he's the knight of Wands, he's associated with springtime, and-" 

"That's you, Snufkin!' Moomin interrupts excitedly, "You're the Knight of Wands! It makes sense, too, since you're here, and its the present! Plus you're the springtime, and you're really adventurous, and you move around a whole awful lot! " 

Snufkin looks down at the cards and then back up at Moomin, squeezing his paw. "Yeah, I guess it does seem like I'm the knight, huh?" 

Moomin smiles softly and turns his paw over. He rubs his thumb over the pads on Snufkin's fingers. "Yeah. You are."he looks back at the cards. "So what is death?" 

Snufkin shakes his head, like he's snapping out of a trance. "Yeah. Death. That card symbolizes change. Probably, with these other cards, positive change. It'll be something big, and maybe not something you'd expect at first. The change will be... both positive and negative. It may seem to be all good or all bad at first, but things will change, and have to be worked through carefully. All together the cards mean that someone or something is pretending to be something they're not, which will cause a dramatic change..." Snufkin pauses and slowly looks over the cards again. "Yeah. yeah. The change will be... related to the Knight." 

"Related to you, you mean." Moomin says, lacing his and Snufkin's fingers together. 

Snufkin feels his heart go to his throat. "Yeah, related to... to me." 

Moomin smiles softly, looking down at their laced fingers and back at the cards. "Yeah. I have an idea of what that might be." Tears begin to prick at the edges of Moomin's eyes. 

"Oh, Moomin," Snufkin says, bringing his thumb to Moomin's cheek to wipe away a tear, "Please don't cry. What do you think is going to happen?" He feels sick to his stomach, he hates seeing Moomin cry like this. He only meant to impress him with the divining cards, not hurt him like this. 

Moomin brings his paw up to Snufkin's hand on his cheek, holding it there. "Please... please don't leave the valley forever, Snufkin. I don't know what I'd do without you." 

Snufkin smiles softly and rubs his thumb against Moomin's cheek. "Oh my silly Moomin, there's no need to worry, you know I always come back." 

Moomin tries to smile a bit but the tears don't stop. "I know you need your space, Snufkin, I know you do, and I want you to be happy, but I get so so scared that you'll leave forever and won't come back because you just got so tired of me." 

"Oh... oh my silly Moomin. I could never get tired of you. That will never change. I promise you that." 

Snufkin sits and watches Moomin as he hiccups and tears roll down his face. 

 _I'll never get tired of this,_ He thinks,  _Sometimes I just don't want to feel trapped. Doesn't mean I love this any less. I wish he could understand that... I wish I could express all this to him._

He resists the urge to press soft kisses to Moomin's snout, beg him to stop crying, and hold him until they're both blushing and smiling. 

No. Instead the two of them sit, close but not too close, and listen to the rain outside as tears roll down Moomin's cheeks. 

 


	2. The Moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (the sections at the beginning of the next few chapters are paraphrased from [this book](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0738735795/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_eKJ6CbZTC4RB8). It’s not the best tarot book but it has pretty language.)

_The moon is an invitation to have the courage of your strongest feelings. With this card we often find ourselves in moods that at first we don't understand. The card is an encouragement to open one's heart and cast off one's awkwardness. It reflects that one is pretending to be something other than what they are._

It's been four days since Snufkin read the cards for Moomin.

After Moomin’s tears had dried and the rain had stopped, Snufkin cleaned up his cards and went back to his camp. For the next few days, he hardly saw Moomin at all. That isn’t exactly uncommon for the two of them, often one of them will go on an adventure without the other, and bring back a story or souvenir to share. However, neither was on any sort of adventure. Snufkin spent the time fishing and setting his camp back up after the heavy rains from the day before, and Moomin was spending time with Snorkmaiden. 

 _Snorkmaiden._ Snufkin likes her, he really does. She’s funny and bright and sees a lot of good in people. Snufkin thinks she’s a good person, through and through. He can’t pin down why thinking of her makes him feel outright nauseous. Instead, he simply ignores the issue. 

Snufkin stirs his soup pot, looking down at his breakfast. Even though he could probably get something other than soup at Moomin House (and he does love Moominmamma’s pancakes) he doesn’t want to be a bother, so soup for breakfast it is. Someone taps his shoulder, interrupting his breakfast musing. 

“Snufkin!” Moomin says with a smile, "Snufkin I'm so glad you're here, do you want to go camping with me? Snorkmaiden doesn't like camping, and Sniff is working on-" 

Snufkin chuckles and gestures to his tent. "I'm not sure, Moomin, I'm always camping, you know." 

Moomin pouts and sits down on a log across from Snufkin. “Oh of course I know that, Snufkin, but I really, really, really don’t want to go alone, and it would be awful fun! Please say you’ll go with me, Snufkin!” 

Moomin leans forward, smiling wide. Snufkin feels himself turn red. “Oh well of course I’ll go with you, my Moomintroll, it does sound fun.” 

Moomin tenses at the endearing name. “My Moomintroll...” he mutters under his breath. 

“What was that?” Snufkin asks, ladling soup into two bowls. 

“Nothing!” Moomin shakes his head. “Nothing at all. We should head out today, so we can set up before it gets too dark!” 

“Certainly” Snufkin says, handing over a bowl, “I can pack my things in about an hour, would you like to set out then?” 

Moomin’s ears wiggle as he shovels soup into his mouth. “Oh yes!” He says between bites, “Yes, I’ll get started right away!” He drinks the broth from the bowl and wipes his mouth on the back of his hand. “Thank you for the soup, I’m going to go back, I’ll be back in an hour, bye bye, Snuf-“ Moomin trips over his log trying to stand up but quickly stands and brushes himself off. “Bye Snufkin!” he shouts, running off towards the Moominhouse. 

Snufkin watches him run off as he eats his soup. “What a lovely Moomin.” He mutters to himself as Moomin climbs the ladder to his room. “It’s far too bad that he’s my dearest friend. I could see myself falling in love with him.” 

Snufkin finishes packing his things in less than an hour (which is really no surprise) and sits below a large tree playing his mouth organ to himself. This year’s spring tune is slower than usual, somewhat melancholy, but sweet and romantic. He thought of how much Moomin would love it the whole time as he figured out each note. Snorkmaiden hated the tune, since it was too slow to dance to, but that was alright. While Snorkmaiden danced to music from the record player, Snufkin would play his spring tune and Moomin would lay in his lap, humming along until he fell asleep. 

Snufkin feels his heart beating in his chest at the memories. Whenever Moomin sits nearby, Snufkin is convinced his heart is beating louder than his mouth organ can play. Heartbeats and soft notes try to overpower the other, until Snufkin is out of breath, but his heart continues pounding hard, now with no music to drown it out. It never takes long for Moomin to break the heavy beats of silence. 

He talks about whatever comes to mind. His most recent adventure, pretty rocks or shells he found, small bits of gossip about neighbors or friends. Snufkin always tries hard to be attentive, but it’s so easy to get lost in his friend’s voice, his smile, the way his hands and ears and tail all wiggle excitedly, like they each have a mind of their own. 

Snufkin feels his own tail flip, smiling absently to himself as he thinks about Moomin’s habits. There's no way he could be aware of it all, all the finicky things he does while his mind is elsewhere.

Snufkin's own mind has run off when Moomin returns, and doesn't hear his friend shout his name until the third or fourth time. Snufkin shakes himself out of his absent daydream. 

"Hello Moomin, are you ready to go?" 

Moomin nods, holding the straps of his knapsack. "Yeah, I'm ready! Mamma said you can leave some of your things in our house if you want, so they don't get lost or broken. Like your fishing supplies or your jar of shells or... or your magic cards." 

Snufkin smiles and shakes his head, patting the pocket where the box of divining cards is kept. "It's alright, I'd rather keep my things with me. You never know when you might need them." 

Moomin nods sagely. "Yes, of course. who knows, we may need to give the Groke your shells."

Snufkin laughs, and starts walking down the forest path. "Oh, you know I could never give those up. They were all gifts from you, my-" the pet name catches in his throat for a moment "-my dove." 

Moomin scurries to catch up, and falls in line with Snufkin with a skip. "What would you give up instead? Your matchbook?"

"I could give her one of my cards, maybe some magic would help her." 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is short bcause i write them like "uwu and then they said ily" and I have to backspace becuse no...... this is about the Yearning. This is supposed to convey the same mood as me shooting my shot by posting about a girl on my private insta and secret tumblr, but in fantasy 1950s finland and instead of human lesbians its gay forest trolls

**Author's Note:**

>  [My Tumblr](https://sucrefemme.tumblr.com/)
> 
> If you’re not into hitting links, i’m @sucrefemme!


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